Americans are anxious about AI’s potential to disrupt the labor force. That anxiety is understandable.
But the instinct to seek security in more regulation threatens to reinforce the very barriers that hold workers back. What workers need now isn’t more protection from change. It’s more freedom to adapt to it. Occupational licensing reform is a good place to start.
Numerous surveys indicate that Americans are deeply uneasy about AI’s impact on both their own livelihoods and the future of work more broadly. Pew Research Center finds that workers are far more likely to believe that AI will decrease their future job opportunities than increase them.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 71 percent of Americans are concerned that AI will put too many people out of work permanently. Similarly, Gallup finds that around three quarters of Americans believe that AI will reduce the total number of jobs over the next decade. And this anxiety is only growing as AI tools become more capable and more visible in everyday work.
This is a problem, because when people feel anxious and threatened they tend to become psychologically defensive. This makes them more closed-minded and risk-averse, and draws them toward whatever feels like protection. In public policy terms, this means they favor more restrictions, more regulation. Indeed, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 61 percent of Americans believe the government should regulate AI to ensure economic stability, a sentiment that holds across partisan lines with 69 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Republicans, and 60 percent of Independents favoring such regulation. The instinct to seek security in regulation is understandable. But it can reinforce the very rigidities that make adaptation harder.
If we want to help people adapt and thrive in the era of AI, we need to resist a defensive mindset and promote a more open and expansive one. It is difficult to know exactly what challenges AI will create for the labor market. New research highlights jobs that are the most threatened as well as those where workers may face the most difficulty adapting. We also know what barriers are already limiting workers’ opportunities and will make adapting to future disruption even harder, and a defensive mindset makes us less likely to address them. A prime example is occupational licensing.
Continue reading at The Orange County Register.
Edward Timmons, PhD, is Vice President of Policy at the Archbridge Institute. He leads the institute's economic policy strategy, identifying focus areas and disseminating work to key stakeholders and policymakers. His own research focuses on labor economics and regulatory policy; he is regularly asked to provide expert testimony to U.S. states on occupational licensing reform and the practice authority of nurse practitioners. Dr. Timmons received his Ph.D. in economics from Lehigh University and his B.A. in economics and actuarial science from Lebanon Valley College. He publishes a weekly newsletter on Substack with the latest research and policy insights surrounding occupational licensing.
Clay Routledge, PhD, is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Archbridge Institute, where he also leads the institute’s Human Flourishing Lab. As a thought leader in existential psychology and human motivation, Clay translates research into practical insights that help people reach their full potential, build meaningful lives, and advance human progress and flourishing. Dr. Routledge received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is co-editor of Profectus Magazine, an online publication dedicated to human progress and flourishing. He writes the weekly newsletter "Flourishing Friday."
Economics of Flourishing
Americans are anxious about AI’s potential to disrupt the labor force. That anxiety is understandable.
But the instinct to seek security in more regulation threatens to reinforce the very barriers that hold workers back. What workers need now isn’t more protection from change. It’s more freedom to adapt to it. Occupational licensing reform is a good place to start.
Numerous surveys indicate that Americans are deeply uneasy about AI’s impact on both their own livelihoods and the future of work more broadly. Pew Research Center finds that workers are far more likely to believe that AI will decrease their future job opportunities than increase them.
According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, 71 percent of Americans are concerned that AI will put too many people out of work permanently. Similarly, Gallup finds that around three quarters of Americans believe that AI will reduce the total number of jobs over the next decade. And this anxiety is only growing as AI tools become more capable and more visible in everyday work.
This is a problem, because when people feel anxious and threatened they tend to become psychologically defensive. This makes them more closed-minded and risk-averse, and draws them toward whatever feels like protection. In public policy terms, this means they favor more restrictions, more regulation. Indeed, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 61 percent of Americans believe the government should regulate AI to ensure economic stability, a sentiment that holds across partisan lines with 69 percent of Democrats, 62 percent of Republicans, and 60 percent of Independents favoring such regulation. The instinct to seek security in regulation is understandable. But it can reinforce the very rigidities that make adaptation harder.
If we want to help people adapt and thrive in the era of AI, we need to resist a defensive mindset and promote a more open and expansive one. It is difficult to know exactly what challenges AI will create for the labor market. New research highlights jobs that are the most threatened as well as those where workers may face the most difficulty adapting. We also know what barriers are already limiting workers’ opportunities and will make adapting to future disruption even harder, and a defensive mindset makes us less likely to address them. A prime example is occupational licensing.
Continue reading at The Orange County Register.
Edward Timmons
Edward Timmons, PhD, is Vice President of Policy at the Archbridge Institute. He leads the institute's economic policy strategy, identifying focus areas and disseminating work to key stakeholders and policymakers. His own research focuses on labor economics and regulatory policy; he is regularly asked to provide expert testimony to U.S. states on occupational licensing reform and the practice authority of nurse practitioners. Dr. Timmons received his Ph.D. in economics from Lehigh University and his B.A. in economics and actuarial science from Lebanon Valley College. He publishes a weekly newsletter on Substack with the latest research and policy insights surrounding occupational licensing.
Clay Routledge
Clay Routledge, PhD, is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Archbridge Institute, where he also leads the institute’s Human Flourishing Lab. As a thought leader in existential psychology and human motivation, Clay translates research into practical insights that help people reach their full potential, build meaningful lives, and advance human progress and flourishing. Dr. Routledge received his Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He is co-editor of Profectus Magazine, an online publication dedicated to human progress and flourishing. He writes the weekly newsletter "Flourishing Friday."
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